If It's Too Loud...

A really busy week, so a two-parter with two albums of the week. One today, one tomorrow: Co-Album of the Week Artist : Frigs Album : Basic Behaviour Quick Description : Awesome post-punk debut. Why You Should Listen : You're upset we only got one Screaming Females album this week, Overall Thoughts : A co-album of the week, very interesting to listen to in the context of an excellent Screaming Females album. A little angsty, a little anxious, and has a heavy, dark feeling behind it that suggests a number of layers below the initial surface. This is quite simply a must-listen, especially for fans of Screaming Females. Definitely a release that shouldn’t be overlooked. Recommendation : One of the best of the week. Artist : Computer Magic Album : Danz Quick Description : Latest from the indie electronic act. Why You Should Listen : A little more mature, a little more interesting. Overall Thoughts : I have expressed my love for Computer Magic before, and this new al...

Seeing as we're still in the slow summer weeks new release-wise and I've been given the heads-up on a lot of recent releases we've missed, this will be a bit of a compendium week. First, new releases for July 29: Dyan - Looking for Knives : Probably my favorite album of this week, it's the sort of synth-heavy indie pop that I tend to gravitate to a lot. Evocative of Au Revoir Simone in a lot of ways, if "Days Upon Days" doesn't grab you this might not do it for you, but it's a solid release that I really loved. Cotton Mather - Death of the Cool : This is a really good album, with a lot of roots and power pop elements mixed in with some solid songwriting. I still had a lot of resistance to this, though, as there's just something that kept me from completely breaking through on this one. It might be that the sound is not fully formed here or that it can't quite decide what kind of band they're looking to be, but my critique is mostl...

Let's jump right in. Hot Chip - Why Make Sense? : Everyone, at this point, knows "Ready for the Floor." The electronic group is back with a new album that remains out of touch both with the song that made them big and current electronic trends, but this one is still a pretty solid record with a lot of interesting and sometimes complicated parts. I really enjoyed this one in a way I didn't like their previous effort, and I'm looking forward to spending more time with this album. The Milk Carton Kids - Monterey : I really should love The Milk Carton Kids, and the previous efforts are ones I've liked, but hardly loved. Monterey may have finally changed that or me, as this is a strong, understated folk album with a lot going for it. I really enjoyed listening to the whole thing, and then the final track, "Poison Tree," came on and I was hooked for good. It's just a really solid listen from start to finish, and absolutely worth your time thi...